Etymology

History

The Nāsik Gazetteer states that in 246 BCE Maharashtra is mentioned
as one of the places to which mauryan
emperor Asoka sent an embassy, and
Mahārashtraka is recorded in a Chālukyan inscription of 580 CE as
including three provinces and 99,000 villages. The name Maharashtra
also appeared in a 7th century inscription and in the account of a
Chinese traveler, Hiuen-Tsang. In 90
A.D. Vedishri, son of the Satavahana king Satakarni, the "Lord of Dakshinapatha, wielder of
the unchecked wheel of Sovereignty", made Junnar, thirty
miles north of Pune, the capital of his kingdom. In the
early fourteenth century the Devgiri Yadavs
were overthrown by the northern Muslim powers. Then on, the region
was administered by various kingdoms called Deccan Sultanates.

Pre Medieval history

Not much is known about Maharashtra's early history, and its
recorded history dates back to the 3rd century B.C.E., with the use of Maharashtri Prakrit, one of
the Prakrits derived from Sanskrit. Later,
Maharashtra became a part of the Magadha
empire, ruled by emperor Ashoka. The port town of
Sopara, north of present day Mumbai, was the centre of
ancient India's commerce, with links to Eastern Africa, Mesopotamia, Aden and Cochin.

With the disintegration of the Mauryan Empire, a local dynasty
called Satavahanas came into prominence
in Maharashtra between 230 B.C.E. and 225
C.E. The period saw the biggest cultural
development of Maharashtra. The Satavahana's official language was
Maharashtri, which later developed into
Marathi. The great ruler Gautamiputra Satkarni (also known as
"Shalivahan") ruled around 78 C.E. He started the Shalivahana era, a new calendar, still used
by Maharashtrian populace and as the Indian national calendar. The
empire gradually disintegrated in the third century.

Islamic Rule

Maharashtra came under Islamic influence for the first time after
the Delhi Sultanate rulers Ala-ud-din Khalji, and later Muhammad bin Tughluq conquered parts of
the Deccan in the 13th
century. After the collapse of the Tughlaqs in 1347, the Bahmani Sultanate of Gulbarga took over,
governing the region for the next 150 years. After the breakup of
the Bahamani sultanate, in 1518, Maharashtra split into and was
ruled by 5 Shahdoms, namely Nizamshah of Ahmednagar, Adilshah of
Bijapur,Qutubshah of Govalkonda, Bidarshah of Bidar and Imadshah of
Berar.

Rise of the Marathas

By the early seventeenth century, the Maratha Empire began to take root. Shahaji
Bhosale, an ambitious local general in the employ of the Mughals
and Adil Shah of Bijapur, at various times attempted to establish
his independent rule. The attempts succeeded through his son
Shivaji Bhosale. Marathas were led by Chhattrapati Shivaji Raje Bhosale, who was crowned
king in 1664. Shivaji constantly battled with the Mughal emperor
Aurangzeb and Adil Shah of Bijapur. By the
time of his death in 1680, Shivaji had created a kingdom covering
most of Maharashtra and nearly half of India today (except the
Aurangabad district which was part of the Nizam's territory) and
Gujarat in very small life span.

Rajaram's nephew & Sambhaji's son, Shahu
Bhosale declared himself to be the legitimate heir to the
Bhosale throne. In 1714, Shahu's Peshwa
(chief minister) Balaji Vishwanath, helped him seize the Maratha
throne in 1708, with some acrimony from Rajaram's widow, Tara Bai.

Peshwas

The Peshwas (prime ministers) played an important role in expanding
the Maratha Empire in Northern and Central India. They were also
decisive in many battles, like Moropant Pingale in 1670’s Dindori
battle against the Mughals, Ramchandra Amatya in 1690’s Satara
Battle against the Mughals and, the Pant Pratinidhi Peshwa. By
1760, the Maratha Empire spread across parts of Punjab (in today's
Pakistan), Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh,
Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and
Karnataka.

Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, of the Bhat family, and his son, Baji Rao I, bureaucratised the Maratha state. They
systematised the practice of tribute gathering from Mughal
territories, under the heads of sardesmukhi and chauth (the two terms corresponding to the
proportion of revenue collected). They also consolidated
Mughal-derived methods of assessment and collection of land revenue
and other taxes. Much of the revenue terminology used in Peshwa
documents derives from Persian, suggesting a far greater continuity
between Mughal and Maratha revenue practice than may be politically
palatable in the present day.

At the same time,the maritime Angre clan controlled a fleet of
vessels based in Kolaba and other centres of
the west coast. These ships posed a threat not only to the
new English settlement of Mumbai, but to the Portuguese at Goa, Bassein, and
Daman.

Post-Panipat, the Peshwa's ex-generals looked after the regional
kingdoms they had earned and carved out for themselves in the
service of Peshwas covering north-central and Deccan regions of
India. Pune continued to be ruled by what was left of the Peshwa
family.

British Rule and Post-Independence

With the arrival and subsequent involvement of the British East India Company in
Indian politics, the Marathas and the British fought the three
Anglo-Maratha wars between 1777 and 1818, culminating in the
annexation of Peshwa-ruled territory in Maharashtra in 1819, which
heralded the end of the Maratha empire.

After India's independence in 1947, the princely states were
integrated into the Indian Union, and the Deccan States including Kolhapur were
integrated into Bombay State, which was
created from the former Bombay Presidency in 1950. In 1956, the States Reorganisation Act
reorganized the Indian states along linguistic lines, and Bombay
Presidency State was enlarged by the addition of the predominantly
Marathi-speaking regions of Marathwada
(Aurangabad Division) from erstwhile Hyderabad state and Vidarbha region (Amravati and Nagpur divisions) from Madhya Pradesh (formerly the Central Provinces and Berar).
On May 1, 1960, Maharashtra came into existence when Bombay
Presidency State was split into the new linguistic states of
Maharashtra and Gujarat. Yashwantrao
Chavan became the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Geography

The Arabian Sea in Mahad

Maharashtra encompasses an area of 308,000 km²
(119,000 mi²), and is the third largest state in India.
It is
bordered by the states of Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east, Andhra Pradesh to the southeast, Karnataka to the south, and Goa to the
southwest.The state of Gujarat lies to the
northwest, with the Union territory of Dadra
and Nagar
Haveli sandwiched in between.The Arabian Sea makes up Maharashtra's west coast.

The Western Ghats better known as
Sahyadri, are a hilly range running parallel to the coast, at an
average elevation of 1,200 metres (4,000 ft).
Kalsubai, a peak in the Sahyadris,near Nashik City is the
highest elevated point in Maharashtra. To the west of these
hills lie the Konkan coastal plains,
50–80 kilometres in width. To the east of the Ghats lies the flat
Deccan
Plateau.The Western Ghats form one of the three
watersheds of India, from which
many South Indian rivers originate,
notable among them being Godavari
River, and Krishna, which flow eastward into the Bay of Bengal, forming one of the greatest river basins in
India.

The Ghats
are also the source of numerous small rivers which flow westwards,
emptying into the Arabian
Sea. To the east are major rivers like
Vainganga, which flow to the south and eventually into the Bay of
Bengal.

There are many multi-state irrigation projects in development,
including Godavari River Basin
Irrigation Projects. The plateau is composed of black basalt soil, rich in humus. This
soil is well suited for cultivating cotton, and hence is often
called black cotton soil.

Western Maharashtra, which includes the districts of Nashik,
Ahmadnagar, Pune, Satara, Solapur, Sangli and Kolhapur, is a
prosperous belt famous for its sugar factories. Farmers in the
region are economically well off due to fertile land and good
irrigation.

Protected areas of Maharashtra

Several wildlife
sanctuaries, national parks and Project Tiger reserves have been created in
Maharashtra, with the aim of conserving the rich bio-diversity of
the region. As of May 2004, India has 92 national parks, of which 5 are
located in Maharashtra. A large percentage of Maharashtra's forests
and wildlife lie in the Vidarbha region.

Chandoli National Park, located in Sangli district
has a vast variety of flora and fauna. The famous Prachitgad
Fort and Chandoli dam and scenic water falls can be found around
Chandoli National Park.

Apart from these, Maharashtra has 35 wildlife sanctuaries spread
all over the state, listed here. The Nagzira (Bhandara district), Phansad
Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary are the important ones.

Economy

Favourable economic policies in the 1970s led to Maharashtra
becoming India's leading industrial state in the last quarter of
20th century. Over 41% of the S&P CNX 500
conglomerates have corporate offices in Maharashtra. However,
regions within Maharashtra show wide disparity in development.
Mumbai, Pune and western Maharashtra are the most developed. These
areas also dominate the politics and bureaucracy of the state. This
has led to resentment among less developed regions like Vidarbha, Marathwada, and
Konkan.Maharashtra's gross state domestic
product for 2008 is forecast to be at $150 billion at current
market prices. The state's debt was estimated at 36 per cent of GDP
in 2005.

In 2007 Maharashtra reported a revenue surplus of INR 810 crore. Maharashtra is the second most urbanised state
with urban population of 42% of whole population.

The coast of Maharashtra has been a shipbuilding center for many
centuries. The expertise and the manpower available in
the local area make this business more attractive.This is reflected
by the number of companies operating shipyards in the state such as
Bharati Shipyard at Ratnagiri and the upcoming Rajapur Shipyards at Rajapur, apart from the state owned Mazagon Dock Limited at
Mumbai.

Mumbai is also the centre of India's Hindi
film and television industry (Bollywood).

Maharashtra ranks first nationwide
in coal-based thermal electricity as well as nuclear electricity
generation with national market shares of over 13% and 17%
respectively. Maharashtra is also introducing Jatropha cultivation and has
started a project for the identification of suitable sites for
Jatropha plantations.

The
capital city Mumbai is home to
the Vidhan Sabha – the state assembly
and Mantralaya, the administrative
offices of the government. The legislature convenes its
budget and monsoon sessions in Mumbai, and the winter session in
Nagpur, which was designated as the state's auxiliary
capital.

After India's independence, most of Maharashtra's political history
was dominated by the Congress
party. Maharashtra became a bastion of the Congress party
producing stalwarts such as Y.B.Chavan, one of its most prominent
Chief Ministers. The party enjoyed near unchallenged dominance of
the political landscape until 1995 when the right wingShiv Sena and
BJP secured an overwhelming majority in the
state to form a coalition. After a split
in the Congress party, former chief minister Sharad Pawar formed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP),
but formed a coalition with the Congress to keep out the BJP-SS
combine. The 2004 elections saw the NCP gaining the largest number
of seats to become the state's largest party, eroding much of the
Shiv Sena's base. Under a pre-poll power sharing agreement, the
Chief Minister would be from the Congress while the deputy Chief
Minister would be from the NCP. Ashok
Chavan is the current Chief
Minister and Chhagan Bhujbal is
the Deputy Chief
Minister.

The 2009 elections saw the Congress-NCP alliance winning with clean
sweep to the BJP-Shivsena alliance.

Revenues of Government

This is a chart of trend of own tax revenues (excluding the shares
from Union tax pool) of the Government of Maharashtra assessed by
the Finance Commissions from time to time with figures in millions
of Indian Rupees.

Year

Own Tax Revenues

2000

198,821

2005

332,476

This is a chart of trend of own non-tax revenues (excluding the
shares from Union tax pool) of the Government of Maharashtra
assessed by the Finance Commissions from time to time with figures
in millions of Indian Rupees.

Year

Own Non-tax Revenues

2000

26,030

2005

30,536

Judiciary

The Bar Council
of Maharashtra and Goa has enrolled approximately 90,000
Advocates on its Roll till 2009. Bar Council is represented by 25
Elected Members from the above territory and Advocate General of
each State is Ex-officio Member of the Bar Council. This Bar
Council elects one representative to The Bar Council of India as its
Member and also elects Chairman and Vice-Chairman for the Council.
The tenure of the entire Bar Council is for 5 years and it is
headed by the Chairman of the State Bar Council. The Secretary of
the Bar Council is the Administrative Head of the staff of the Bar
Council. There are 25 different Committees of the Council which
look after the respective functions of the Bar Council.

Education and Social Development

Maharashtra has good HRD
infrastructure in terms of educational institutions—301
engineering/diploma colleges, 616 ITIs and 24 universities with a turnout of 160,000
technocrats every year.

It is home to institutions like C-DAC which
developed India's supercomputer, Indian Institutes of
Technology, Visvesvaraya
National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Victoria Jubilee
Technical Institute, University Department of Chemical Technology
and top-rated management institutions.50,000 youth trained to take
up self-employment ventures every year by the Maharashtra Centre
for Entrepreneurship Development (MCED), Aurangabad.

ILS Law College, established by the
Indian Law Society is one of the top ten law schools in India.
Established medical schools such as the Armed Forces Medical
College and Byramjee
Jeejeebhoy Medical College train students from all over
Maharashtra and India and are amongst the top medical colleges in
India. Military Nursing College (affiliated to the AFMC) ranks
among the top nursing colleges in the world.

Maharashtra in total, has 40% India's Internet users and 35% of PC
penetration in the country.

Demographics

As per
the 2001 census, Maharashtra has a population of 96,752,247
inhabitants making it the second most populous state in India, and
the second most populous
country subdivision in existence, and third ever after the
Russian SFSR of the former Soviet Union. The Marathi-speaking population of
Maharashtra numbers 62,481,681 according to the 2001 census. This
is a reflection of the cosmopolitan nature of the state. Only
eleven countries of the world have a population greater than
Maharashtra. Its density is 322.5 inhabitants per square kilometre.
Males constitute 50.3 million and females, 46.4 million.
Maharashtra's urban population stands at 42.4%. Its sex ratio is
922 females to 1000 males. 77.27% of its population is literate,
broken into 86.2% males and 67.5% females. Its growth rate between
1991–2001 was pegged at 22.57%.

Marathi is the official state
language. In Mumbai and suburban areas, apart from the native
Marathi, English, Hindi,
Gujarati and other languages are
also spoken. In the northwest portion of Maharashtra, a dialect
Ahirani is spoken by 2.5 million people. In
south Konkan, a dialect known as Malvani is spoken by most of the people.
In the
Desh (inland) region of the
Deccan, a dialect
called Deshi is spoken, while in Vidarbha,
a dialect known as Varhadi is spoken by most
of the people.

In modern times Nisargadatta
Maharaj, a Shudra and bidi-seller, became a
Hindu saint of major influence in India. Popular forms of God are
Shiva, Krishna and
Ganesha. Lord Shiva's devotion is celebrated
by taking part in Maha Shivaratri
(Night of Shiva) festival. In modern times, the Elephanta
island in Mumbai, Lord's Shiva island in local mythology,
originated the Elephant Festival.

Lord Krishna's devotions are celebrated in
the state-wide Gokul Ashtami (or Krishna Janmashtami, Krishna's
birthday) whereby many devotees fast on the entire day until
midnight. The Dahi-Handi is also observed
on this day at many places. Lord Krishna's devotion are also
celebrated at Kaartik Aamawasya (or Diwali)
and at Narak Chaturdashi as returning of Lord Shri
Rama.

The other festivals celebrated on the large scale are Vijayadashami or Dasara
(Marathi : दसरा), Navaratri, Holi, Diwali, Eid .
Simollanghan is a ritual performed on
Dasara or Viajaya Dashami day in Maharashtra. Simollanghan is
crossing the border or frontier of a village or a place. In ancient
times, kings used to cross the frontier of their kingdom to fight
against their rivals or neighbor kingdoms. They used to perform
Ayudha Puja on Dasara and begin the war
season. On Dasara, people cross the borders of their places
(Simollangan) and collect the leaves of Apta
tree (आपट्याची पाने) and exchange among their friends
and relatives as gold (सोने म्हणून आपट्याची पाने देतात) . People
worship Shami tree and its leaves (शमीची पाने) on this day .

Divisions and Regions

Divisions of Maharashtra

Maharashtra is divided into thirty-five districts, which are grouped into
six divisions . These are official revenue divisions of government
of Maharashtra.

The govt
of Maharashtra has decided to start a new official revenue division
at Nanded dividing
the existing Aurangabad Division
in Marathwada region. The approval
has already been processed on 5 January 2009 . The new Nanded
division will comprise of Nanded,
Latur, Parbhani and Hingolidistricts. The state
has granted the Aurangabad divisional commissioner (revenue) a sum
of one crore rupees towards the purpose, apart from announcing that
the new division would be run by one specially appointed officer
and 10 assistants, at the start.

The decision comes due to the fact that the Aurangabad division,
comprising Aurangabad Nanded, Latur, Jalna, Parbhani, Osmanabad,
Hingoli and Beed, was a huge division by itself. Apart from this,
the populations of Nanded and Latur, both over 260 kilometres away
from Aurangabad, are 28,76,000 and 20,80,000 respectively, thus
making them large subparts.

Additionally, Parbhani and Hingoli too are over 200 km away
from Aurangabad, hence the populations of these four districts
would face a lot of hassles if they had to meet officials at the
Aurangabad revenue office. This new official division is yet to
come to effect as of date.

Border dispute

Maharashtra has a border dispute with
neighboring state of Karnataka over the Belgaum ( Belagavi, Belgaon)
district.Belgaum was incorporated into the newly formed Mysore state (now Karnataka) with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act
(1956), which reorganised India's states along linguistic lines, despite having a large
Marathi-speaking population; about three-fourths of the total
population.Since then, Maharashtra continues to claim
the district, and the case is now in Supreme
Court of India.

Principal urban agglomerations

Maharashtra has one of the highest level of urbanisation of all
Indian states. The mountainous topography and soil are not as
suitable for intensive agriculture as the plains of North India;
therefore, the proportion of the urban population (42.4 per cent)
contrasts starkly with the national averageveloping metro and many
large towns. Mumbai is the state capital with a population of
approximately 15.2 million people. The other large cities are Pune,
Nasik, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Amravati, Aurangabad and Nagpur.

Mumbai: Mumbai
(including Thane and
Navi
Mumbai in its metropolitan area) is the financial and
commercial capital of India and is the megapolis capital of
Maharashtra. It has the largest proportion of taxpayers in
India and its share markets transact almost 70 per cent of the
country’s stocks. It offers a lifestyle that is rich, cosmopolitan
and diverse, with a variety of food, entertainment and nightlife.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai
is the biggest and the busiest airport in India. The city is
India's link to the world of telecommunications and the Internet.
VSNL (Now Tata Communications Limited) is the terminal point in
India for all telephone and internet traffic. Mumbai is India's
flagship port destination. It is also home to the Indian Navy's
Western Command (INS).

Pune: Pune, the
second largest city in Maharashtra and the eighth largest in India,
is the state's cultural and heritage capital with a population of
4.5 million people. About 170 km from Mumbai by road,
Pune was the bastion of the Maratha empire. Under the reign of the
Peshwas, Pune blossomed into a centre of art
and learning. Several far reaching revenue and judicial reforms
were also initiated in the city. Shaniwarwada, Saras baug, Aga Khan
Palace, Parvati Temple, Khadakwasla Dam, Sinhgad are the most
visited places by tourists in Pune. 'Ganeshotsav', a festival of
Lord Ganesh is celebrated in Pune with lot of enthusiasm and
worship. Pune is connected to Mumbai by the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Pune also has
very important military cantonments as well as the HQ of the
Southern Command, the
National Defence
Academy, the AFMC, CME, and the
IAF base at Lohegaon too. Pune is a
major Information Technology
hub of India as well as a foremost destination for Automobile
manufacturing and component industryCity.

Nashik: It is the
third largest and industilised city in the Maharashtra . One
of the holy cities of the Hindu tradition, Nashik lies on the banks
of the sacred river Godavari and has a population of about 1.6
million people. It is believed that Lord Rama, hero of the great
Indian epic, the Ramayana, spent a major part of his exile here.
Nashik is also a temple town, with over 200 temples.Nashik today is
rapidly developing in ITs, industries, Pharmaceuticals and
westernisation. It is also famous for its pleasant and cool
climate. Nashik is also an educational hub.

Nagpur: The
erstwhile capital of the CP & Berar and after independence the
capital of Madhya Pradesh till 1956. Nagpur is the nerve
centre of Vidarbha (eastern Maharashtra), Nagpur - the 'orange
city' as it is known - is located in the heart of India, with a
population of about 2.4 million people (2.1 Million as per census
2001). It is also second administrative capital of Maharashtra.
Nagpur is a growing industrial centre and the home of several
industries, ranging from food products and chemicals to electrical
and transports equipment. An international cargo airport is coming
up in Nagpur. The Maintenance Command of Indian Air Force is
located in Nagpur. The " Zero Mile Stone" or the geographical
centre of India is located in Nagpur. Deekshabhoomi, Sitabardi
Fort, Ambazari, Seminary Hills, Dragon Palace Temple, Pench
National Park are some of the tourist attractions in and around
Nagpur.

Transport

Maharashtra has largest road network in India 21,3951 kilometers.
National Highways in Maharashtra is 3688 kilometers The Indian Railways covers most of the
Maharashtra and is the preferred mode
of transport over long distances. Almost the entire state comes
under the Central Railways branch
which is headquartered in Mumbai. Most of the coast south of Mumbai
comes under the Konkan Railway. The
Maharashtra
State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) runs buses, popularly
called ST for State Transport, linking most of the towns and
villages in and around the state with a large network of operation.
These buses, run by the state government are the preferred mode of
transport for much of the populace. In addition to the government
run buses, private run luxury buses are also a popular mode of
transport between major towns.

Mumbai
has the biggest international airport in India with another coming
up at Navi
Mumbai.Pune has a
civilian enclave international airport with flights to Dubai and
Singapore, with plans on for a brand new greenfield International
Airport.Aurangabad airport has recently been upgraded to an
international airport with flights connecting to Jeddah.Other
large cities such as Nagpur and Nashik are served
by domestic airlines. Nashik has many flights To Mumbai and
Soon Other Metros will be added after the construction of a new
Airport at Nashik. Ferry services also operate near Mumbai, linking
the city to neighbouring coastal towns. Other modes of public
transport, such as a seven-seater tempo have gained popularity in
semi-urban areas. Maharashtra has a large highway network. The
Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the
first access controlledtolled road project in India also exists within
the state. Maharashtra has three major ports at Mumbai
(operated by the Mumbai Port
Trust), the JNPT lying across the Mumbai
harbour in Nhava Sheva, and in Ratnagiri, which handles the export of ores mined in the
Maharastra hinterland.

Culture

Marathi is the official language of
Maharashtra. Maharashtrians take great pride in their
language and history, particularly the Maratha Empire, its founder Shivaji is considered a folk hero across
India. About 80% of Maharashtrians are Hindu, and
there are significant Muslim, Christian and Buddhist
minorities. There are many temples in Maharashtra some of them
being hundreds of years old. These temples are constructed in a
fusion of architectural styles borrowed from North and South India.
The temples also blend themes from Hindu, Buddhist and Jain
cultures. A National Geographic edition
reads, "The flow between faiths was such that for hundreds of
years, almost all Buddhist temples, including the ones at Ajanta, were built under the rule and patronage of Hindu
kings."The temple of Vitthal
at Pandharpur is the most important temple for the Varkari
sect. Other important religious places are the Ashtavinayaka temples of Lord Ganesha, Bhimashankar which is one of the Jyotirling
(12 important shiva temples). Ajanta and
Ellora caves near
Aurangabad as well as Elephanta Caves near Mumbai are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and
famous tourist attractions.Mughal architecture can be seen is the
tomb of the wife of Aurangzeb called
Bibi Ka
Maqbara located at Aurangabad.

In 1708, the year following the death of Aurangzeb, Guru Gobind
Singh the tenth spiritual leader of the Sikhs came over to Nanded,
his permanent abode. He proclaimed himself the last living Guru and
established the Guru Granth Sahib as the eternal Guru of the Sikhs.
This elevates the reverence of Granth to that of a living Guru. A
monument has been constructed at place where he breathed his last.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh's endowment saw the construction of a
beautiful Gurudwara at Nanded around 1835 AD. The Gurudwara
features an imposing golden dome with intricate carvings and a
breathtakingly beautiful artwork. It is known as Shri Huzur
Abchalnagar Sachkhand Gurudwara.

Maharashtra has a large number of hill, land and sea forts. Forts have played an important role in the
history of Maharashtra since the time of the Peshwas. Some of the important
forts in Maharashtra are Raigad, Vijaydurg, Pratapgad, Sinhagad. Majority of the forts in Maharashtra are
found along the coastal region of Konkan.

Maharashtra, like other states of India, has its own
folk music. The folk music viz. Gondhal Lavani, Bharud and
Powada are popular especially in rural areas,
while the common forms of music from the Hindi
and Marathi film industry are favoured in
urban areas.

The earliest instances of Marathi literature is by Sant Jnyaneshwar
with his Bhawarthadeepika
(popularly known as Jnyaneshwari). The compositions
written during this period are spiritually inclined. The other
compositions are by Sant Tukaram, Sant
Namdev, and Sant Gora Kumbhar. The
compositions are mostly in poetic form, which are called bhajans.
These bhajans by saints are popular and part of day to day life.
The modern Marathi literature has been enriched by famous poets and
authors like P.L.Deshpande,
Kusumagraj, Prahlad Keshav Atre and Vyankatesh
Madgulkar. This literature has been passed on to the next
generations through the medium of large numbers of books that are
published every year in Marathi.

The world
famous film industry Bollywood is in
Maharashtra, located in the economic capital of India, Mumbai.The
Marathi film industry was once placed
in Kolhapur but now is spread out through Mumbai too. The pioneer of Indian movie industry,
Bharat Ratna Shri Dadasaheb Phalke,
producer & director V.Shantaram, B.R. Chopra, Shakti Samanta, Raj
Kapoor, form a few names of the Hindi film
fraternity, while writer, director, and actor P.L.Deshpande, actor Ashok Saraf, actor Laxmikant Berde, actor & producer,
Sachin Pilgaonkar, Mahesh Kothare
belong to the Marathi film industry. The
early period of Marathi theatre was dominated by playwrights like
Kolhatkar, Khadilkar, Deval, Gadkari and
Kirloskar who enriched the Marathi theatre
for about half a century with excellent musical plays known as
Sangeet Naatak. The genre of music used in such plays is known as
Natyasangeet. It is during this era of the Marathi theatre that
great singer-actors like Bal
Gandharva, Keshavrao Bhosle, Bhaurao Kolhatkar and Deenanath Mangeshkar thrived.

The cuisine of Maharashtra varies according to the region of
Maharashtra. The people of the Konkan region
have a chiefly rice based diet with fish being a major component,
due the close proximity to the sea. In eastern Maharashtra, the
diet is based more on wheat, Jowar and
Bajra. Puran Poli,
Bakarwadi, plain simple Varan Bhat (a dish cooked with plain
rice and curry), and Modak are a few
dishes to name. Chicken and mutton are also widely used for a
variety of cuisines. Kolhapuri Mutton is a dish famous for its
peculiar spicy nature.

Women traditionally wear a nine yard or five yard sari and men a
dhoti or pajama with a
shirt. This, however, is changing with women in urban Maharashtra
wearing Punjabi dresses, consisting of
a Salwar and a Kurta while men wear trousers and a shirt.

Hindus in Maharashtra follow the ShalivahanaSaka eracalendar. Gudi
Padwa, Diwali, Rangapanchami, Gokulashtami and Ganeshotsav are some of the festivals that are
celebrated in Maharashtra. Ganeshotsav
is one of the biggest festival of Maharashtra which is celebrated
with much reverence and festivity throughout the state and has
since some time become popular all over the country. The festival
which continues over ten days is in honour of Ganesha, the god of learning and knowledge.
A large
number of people walk hundreds of kilometers to Pandharpur for the annual pilgrimage in the month of
Ashadh.